A perpetual student of the sport
Royal Enfield’s all female “Build.Train.Race.” program started with a ladies flat track exhibition race in October of 2020. Road racing was added in 2021 and the series joined the MotoAmerica race series full time in 2022. During MotoAmerica’s stop at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington recently, I enjoyed a conversation with Miranda Cain, who is in her second year with the program.
Her motorcycle journey has been one of constant learning. Even with her background in club racing and her success in the B.T.R. series, the theme of our talk was one of how much she has learned so far, and how much she still has to learn.
Miranda exudes hard work, humility and heart, hallmarks of a true champion regardless of standings.
Miranda emphasized how much she has learned in her motorcycle journey, and how much she still has yet to learn. Photos by Aaron Whiteman.
What was your history with motorcycles before Build.Train.Race.?
My history starts with being on the back of my mom’s bike. My mom rode and when I was young I would get on the back of her bike. She didn’t race but she rode. We had a couple of dirt bikes we would ride around on the farm. Nothing competitive.
When I turned 18 I bought a 1970 Suzuki GS550 for $500. It ran. I didn’t have to do too much to it. I rode that thing everywhere. I had it in college and rode down to Kansas on it, which I do not recommend because there was no windscreen and it tops out at 83 mph. It was actually kind of a terrible, terrible trip, but I did it.
After that I got a BMW R1150R, more of touring bike and better equipped for the kind for riding I was doing which was long distance riding. I took it down to the Tail Of The Dragon and got my Iron Butt on it. It was a little brutal, but we did it. I was still riding with my parents at that point and when I wanted to street ride I went with them.
They had fun on twisty roads.
Then a friend of mine invited me to do an advanced riding school at a closed course. I showed up and I was like, ‘What did I just do? This was so much fun. This is crazy!’ My friend actually crashed. After that I wanted to do it again but I wanted to try a big track so I went up to Brainerd and I was on a BMW K1300S. It is a big bike, very heavy, not centered towards sport riding at all. It’s a sport touring bike, very comfortable, but it’s like a boat. I thought to myself that I really like this but I refuse to ride this bike here again because I don’t want to crash it.
So I went and bought a race prepped Suzuki SV650. I was like ‘This is ready to go. I don’t have to do too much to it, just get it set up for me.’ I did my advanced riding school in June of 2021 and I had my racing license by September of 2021 so after that first day I was like headfirst into the shallow end, racing all day, all the time, as much as I could. That has been my life since.
I did all my own maintenance, as much as I knew. I depended on a lot of friends. There were a lot of things I didn’t know. After racing full time in 2022 and 2023 I race prepped a Yamaha R3. It showed me how much I didn’t know, especially riding because there is no power on those bikes. It’s all in the rider. If you are fast on an R3, you are fast on everything. In 2023 and 2024 I really delved in deep and learned the basics on an R3 after racing a whole year on the SV650. I had to re-learn everything. I had applied to Royal Enfield’s Build.Train.Race. program all those years, and on my third application I got accepted.
Over time, Miranda has worked diligently to develop both her riding and mechanical skills. Photo by Nickless Photos.
What was it like when you found out you were accepted into B.T.R.?
It was a relief. I had done two years of getting the rejection emails telling me, ‘We really appreciate you, keep working, keep being passionate’ and I was hoping I wouldn’t get another. I would love to be in the program but I was almost to the point where if I don’t get accepted this year I don’t know if I will apply a fourth time. It is so competitive to get in. There are hundreds of applicants and this year we had only four openings. And its in three countries: United States, Canada and Brazil. That’s a small selection of a big pool. I was almost ready to say ‘It’s not for me.’
Competitors in Royal Enfield’s Build.Train.Race. series take stock Continental GT 650 bikes and convert them into race machines. They are riders as well as their own mechanics and pit crew. Photos by Nickless Photo & Aaron Whiteman.
What has your B.T.R. journey been like since you got accepted?
Continued growth. From day one I was shown again how much I don’t know. I’m probably more mechanically inclined than most, but there are still plenty of items that I have no clue about. Building this Royal Enfield Continental GT into a race bike, there was plenty where I was like, ‘I don’t even know where to start with this. Suspension? No clue.’
So we go into training and we do a session where they add a bunch of compression to your forks and they tell you to go out, and you can feel it because its way too much compression. It’s not like two clicks, it’s like six. ‘You’re not going to crash,’ they tell you, but this is what you might expect. So things like that have been eye opening. Learning how to ride at different tracks on different bikes. It has been continued learning no matter how long you have been in the program or who you are.
That has been my journey. Learning. All of it.
Another skill that national road racers develop- dealing with media and sponsors. Photo by Nickless Photo
What are the best and worst things about being a national level road racer?
The amount of down time is absolutely the worst part. In club racing, I was doing twelve races a weekend. Mentally I was always in it, always ready to race. At the end of the weekend obviously you are exhausted but mentally you are always prepared. Then you come to the national level and its, ‘You’re on track at 8:30am and your race is at 3:00pm.’ That’s a whole day. At that point you can’t have the adrenaline running that long without any breaks or you are going to crash. So, learning how to manage the time… sucks.
The best part is the people you meet. There are so many good people in the paddock, and fans. The amount of fans that come by, and little kids that come by and love the bikes. Not even just little girls but boys too that are like, ‘Wow, this so cool. You race?’ You still get that shock factor and that awe. You meet so many good individuals because racing brings a lot of people together.
Miranda came into The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton 2nd place in the series championship standings. She qualified on pole and left with 3rd and 2nd place finishes in three races. Photo by Nickless Photo.
What advice do you have for other women considering entering motorcycling?
If you want to do it, do it. There is a place for everybody no matter what you are good at, or not even good at. There are plenty of things to learn and grow. If you want to ride, go ride. If you want to race, go race. If you want to help someone out in the pits, do it. There is space for everyone. Women are 50% of the population so there is room for us everywhere.
If someone wants to do it, they should.
Miranda’s official Royal Enfield B.T.R. competitor press shot. Photo by Royal Enfield/MotoAmerica.
Huge thanks to Miranda for taking the time to chat with me, and for sharing her story. Thanks to Royal Enfield for the access, and to MotoAmerica for supporting this great race series.
Ted
*Top featured photo by Geoff & Barb Nickless
For more on the Royal Enfield “Build.Train.Race” series, click here:
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